Digital Transformation Project – Primark

20

October

2016

No ratings yet.

Our project is about the use of Information Technology in the Human Resource department (HR) of Primark. Primark is a clothing retailer the company launched in Dublin Ireland, in 1969. Today Primark owns 253 stores across the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Holland and Belgium and employs over 70,000 people across the globe.

Current use of IT in the HR department

During the recruitment, Primark asks the candidates to make an online assessment test. When candidates pass the test they are invited to an interview. There is a mandatory online safety training once a year and an online employee satisfaction survey is being. Every month every Primark store sends a newsletter to all its employees. Primark owns a website where customers are asked to fill out a survey about their shopping experience and the employee who helped them. On each receipt, a unique employee number is mentioned, which has to be filled in at the first page of the survey. This is fairly simple compare to competitors like H&M and Zara which have integrated IT in their business more effectively.

The New Technology

Nowadays it is old fashioned to use paper for these HR practices. We suggest the development of an closed online platform, where every current process will be digitalized. Employees and management do not need to work with papers anymore. As a result, forms cannot be lost again and a clear overview of pay checks and other employee information will be provided. The processes between HR and employees will be optimized, accelerated and user-friendly. Each employee will receive an account on this platform and with this account a dashboard will be visible where not only the monthly newsletter and other information can be accessed, but also HR relates practices. Employees will be able to see their work and availability schedule, pay check, sick hours and day offs. Swapping shifts will be much easier and just a few clicks away.

Managerial recommendations

The goal of our report was to examine how digital transformation can accommodate the work relationship between the Primark HR department and the employees. If we take a look at the impact the platform on the processes between HR and employees we can see that: it contributes to employee satisfaction, which indirectly leads to better company performance because time will be spent more in the store working, instead of walking between different departments to deliver forms or get approvals. By providing good training and informative user guides the employees will understand the system quickly. However this process can take time and can be tricky for the company this is why the company will have to carefully plan and monitor this change. Overall the new technology will change the company greatly and provide a platform to share information, these information will make communication clearer and improve the satisfaction of the employees, for the management it means that the company will have access to more data that it can use to improve process.

Please rate this

Digital Transformation Project – H&M and Augmented Reality

13

October

2016

5/5 (1)

H&M is one of the largest clothing retailers world-wide, second only to Indidex, with over 4.000 stores in 64 countries and 140.000 employees. H&M is also actively embracing the online market, where they are already active in 33 countries. This increasing popularity of e-commerce and the subsequent changing customer behaviour is changing the traditional way H&M does business.

 

Regarding the changing customer behaviours and demands, a questionnaire among H&M customers was conducted to identify what advantages customers see in either online or offline shopping for clothing. For online, we found the following main advantages:

  • Convenience, shopping takes less time.
  • Quantity of the offering, online can benefit from the long-tail effect.
  • Availability of the offering, online is much more likely to have the correct sizes in store.
  • Customers like personalised offerings.
  • Transparency of product information, customers can easily check product descriptions themselves.

 

For offline, we found the following main advantages.

  • Customers can feel the product before they buy it.
  • Immediate ownership of goods, no waiting for the delivery van.
  • Less possibility of having to return the clothes.
  • Privacy concerns.

 

While, H&M’s growth strategy is to open more physical stores, our findings clearly see a great deal of customers prefer to shop online. However, H&M’s growth strategy is to open more physical stores. In order to allow H&M’s physical stores to remain relevant to both online and offline customers, we provide a solution which can help incorporate online customer expectations into the physical store.

 

For this purpose, we introduce Cisco StyleMe. This device uses a mirror that overlays the customer’s mirror image with pictures of clothing. Customers can quickly create outfits by mixing and matching a wide range of garments from the retailer’s in-store and online inventory. Cisco StyleMe also adds value by offering advice and recommending related products to customers.

 

The virtual fitting room brings several advantages from the online world into the physical stores. For example, the device allows customers to benefit from the long-tail effect by being able to display any clothes in the database. Also, as the mirror is also a display, product descriptions can be displayed conveniently on the mirror. Adding to this, the display also allows to offer personalised suggestions that go with the clothing that is being tried on. Lastly, if stores decide to limit the presence of physical clothing in their stores  (for the purpose of showcasing or demonstrations), storage space of stores can be minimised and shoplifting can be brought down significantly. In short, implementing Cisco StyleMe allows physical stores to cater to the changing customer demands.

 

The virtual fitting room concept has the potential to change H&M’s current business model. As stores do not necessarily need large storage areas and bulky showcase areas, their design can become much more compact. This opens up a whole new location segment for H&M to open stores in. We propose venues that are always busy, such as train stations, airports, city centres or popular crossings. This concept of small technology-enabled stores will give H&M a new channel to reach customers. These small stores and, more specifically, the virtual fitting rooms, will change the entire value proposition of H&M’s physical stores.

 

Curious? Check out our video as well!

Group 62: M. Hazara (352438), C.T. Heesters (371723), T. Hoes (350000), N. Kießling (437348)

Please rate this